Twilight's Disciples Forum Independent Cinema

Until relatively recently, I avoided just about all films which had not been recorded in English. However, since watching films at QUAD in Derby (England), my outlook as changed! Also, two film magazines have helped to inform and enlighten me - in regard to this innovative and thriving cinematic genre. They are "Little White Lies" and "The Big Picture". These days, I am also more selective, regarding the choice of science fiction films which I decided to watch. But, how about the rest of you? Over to you! I look forward to reading your replies!

 

Julian

 

P.S. I will be adding more to this post, within the next few days - concerning some fine examples of "independent cinema", which I have been particularly pleased with... 

Try the film 'Day Zero'. (NOT Zero Day, that's a different flick.) Indie flick and slated by a lot of critics, its absolutely brilliant. It's highly political-not in the sense that it questions the government, but it revolves around personal politics to the back drop of a much bigger picture.
Also, people should check out 'Everything Is Illuminated'. (It's got Eugine Hutz of Gogol Bordello in it.)

Indie flicks tend to have more soul-big budget films annoy me because of their lack of plot, character development and general heart. Directors like Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich and even James Cameron seem to think SFX means storyline...

Before I reply to the post from D. E. Key, here are the main examples of independent cinema which I have seen at QUAD, so far. They have many different themes:

 

Katyn

Coco Before Chanel

Flame & Citron

Vertigo

Rear Window

In The City Of Sylvia

Frozen River

Mark Of An Angel

 

Now, I accept the point made by D. E. Key, in regard to there being too much reliance on special effects from many modern film directors (such as James Cameron). However, it is only relatively recently - that I have seen this as a threat to the creation of new and innovative storylines. Furthermore, I very much admire a small number of James Cameron's films, such as "Aliens" and "The Abyss". Also, Roland Emmerich's "The Day After Tomorrow", but don't think much of  his earlier film, "Independence Day". Basically, it is not just originality or an interesting storyline, which is lacking in this film. It's also slightly muddled, and longer than the story justifies. I look forward to reading futher replies to this thread! Over to YOU...

 

Julian

'The Day After Tomorrow' was a good idea, but executed terribly. Oh look, there's Dennis Quaid, going to save his son! Oooh, a big wave and now we're all freezing. It was a shoddy plot character-wise. Spielburg could have done it way better, but then, he knows how to tie plot and SFX together.

Anyway, some other indie flicks-both foreign-'Wings of Desire' (the original and BETTER version of 'City of Angels') It's really beautiful-visually, grabs at the heart strings more than Nicolas Cages terrible acting. I think it's German (been a while since I last saw it).

'Paris, Je T'aime' is also an interesting watch. It's a series of short films about Paris, all directed by either accomplished or upcoming directors. It's got a few big names in it like Steve Buscemi and Juliette Banoche, but it's a bloody good film. Got a bit of everything, surrealism, comedy, heartbreak...

(Just remembered, Wings of Desire is German because it's set in Berlin!)